updatesin

Updatesin is a term used in software engineering to describe a class of practices and architectures aimed at applying updates to a running system with minimal downtime. The concept emphasizes in-place modification and gradual activation of changes, rather than requiring a full system restart.

Core features commonly associated with updatesin include in-place patching, feature flags to control exposure of new functionality, compatibility checks to ensure backward compatibility, and robust rollback mechanisms to revert updates quickly if problems arise. Implementations often rely on containerization, dynamic configuration, and external update stores to facilitate distribution and coordination across components.

Typical workflows involve staging updates in a test environment, distributing them through a deployment pipeline, and employing canary or blue-green release strategies. Continuous monitoring and automated rollback actions are used to detect regressions and limit exposure to faulty updates during rollout.

Scope and usage of updatesin tend to center on high-availability systems, online services, and embedded devices where downtime is particularly costly or unacceptable. The approach is also discussed in the broader contexts of live patching and hot-swapping techniques in operating systems, as well as in discussions of microservices, cloud-native deployments, and edge computing.

Limitations and challenges include the added complexity of coordinating state across components, risks of partial updates or state migrations, security considerations, and ensuring deterministic rollback. The term updatesin is not standardized and may be used differently across organizations and technology stacks.